as to hold outs whether selling something for someone's favorite. trick i think it's how you approach not that it is a certain way of doing it to congress. just a story of why out. an underground fire has been burning for over a century beneath india's largest coal field. now open coast mining has put the flames to the surface with devastating consequences for the local population. as communities are destroyed and thousands suffer from toxic fumes what lies behind this human and environmental disaster. people in power the burning city at this time on al-jazeera.

it's twenty one thirty g.m.t. i'm debbie navigator in thirty minutes christians in the holy land will be holding a midnight mass on this christmas eve we take you on a journey of where it all began in one of the oldest cities in the world a cradle of three major religions one that's been fought over for centuries jerusalem it now stands at the heart of the most intractable conflicts of modern time a city that's a powerful symbol of the arab israeli conflict and a place considered sacred to christians muslims and jews in all corners of the world and this al-jazeera news special will examine why this moment when donald trump unilaterally recognized jerusalem as israel's capital pitted america against some of its own allies and why the palestinians now say the u.s. can no longer have a role in the peace process it's a move that's made millions of people demand the u.s. reverse its decision from asia to europe africa to the middle east

a feeling of unity and resistance and on the ground in the occupied territories palestinian resilience meets israel's disproportionate force we look into why drusilla is central to the history of israel's illegal occupation from north to south east to west the land is considered holy to billions more than half of the world's population will take you on a tour across the country through the holy sites past the checkpoints and over the wall that separates families and on the sacred eve when many people believe jesus christ was born we find out the hopes and dreams of people living in the holy land and explore what the future holds for a conflict that touches millions across the world. we begin with harry fawcett's who has the story of the three major abrahamic religions one city and multiple claims of a vile was founded by its ancient walls this tiny patch of land has for

millennia borne a power that has spread far beyond the. won was. my god the stories of the three abrahamic faiths have jerusalem at their heart and the history of their sometimes tolerant often bloody relationship has soaked into the stones. and walk westward along the via dolorosa where christ carried his cross brings you after some twists and turns to the church of the holy sepulcher it's here where jesus said to have been brought down from the cross his body cleaned and in tuned with all his resurrection three days later george gently and took over from his father a secretary to the armenian patriarchate one of three denominations that manages the site he's had a bond with the place since boyhood but this is the central monument of the christians in the world i think billion christians whether they're protestant or orthodox and catholic see in this place as the most important place

where rightfully so because the defining moments of the last week of cries took place within this building but he says it's part of a larger religious monument to the city itself one that shouldn't be politicized suddenly this signature of. makes the issue of jerusalem contest a been so it's our duty and our mission as the residents of jerusalem both israelis and others. to link this issue of jerusalem outside contestation. in his recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital the us president spoke of continued freedom of worship for all faiths with final political borders to be decided but many here see in the president's unabashed backing of israel's claim a cementing of israeli control over islam's third holiest site. so this is one of the main entrances to the al aqsa mosque compound the mosque itself is run by the

jordanian backed islamic work but the entrances to it are guarded by israeli forces and they can restrict access at their will palestinian academic marty addo heidi likens it to a room being let out and withdrawn on a whim and feeling magnified by the trump declaration that he or thing which is my nightmare if israel today is going to translate such a declaration to implement what they claim solvent the over the city meaning to take over the site and to abort my presence. and kick us out of the of the city of hadera. for the muslim faith this is the most closely connected place to heaven prison made here at the shortest route to god that's because it's from here that the prophet muhammad himself is said to descend to have we believe the prophet muhammad came all the way from mark extend to heaven the received his evaluation coming through jerusalem is experience historical religious message to us and to

the world we belong here it's part of us it's really when you get up to the level of the skyline here in jerusalem you get a full idea of just how concentrated of the markers of the hundreds of years of religious history here those great domes behind me are the church of the holy sepulcher where jesus christ is believed to have been laid to rest in just a few hundred meters walk away you can see the gold of the dome of the rock which is in the al aqsa mosque compound where muslims come to pray every friday and just beyond that is the western wall. for jews the dome of the rock sits upon the temple mount site of the first and second jewish temples the western wall is the closest point at which they can pray it stones themselves said to be vested with divinity and rabbi and former opposition member of the israeli parliament the knesset lippmann says this place embodies the jewish connection to god and to jerusalem after two thousand years we would exile went from country to country cuts at the continent but three times a day jews turned towards jerusalem to pray twice

a year in the most important moments we said next year in jerusalem since seizing east jerusalem in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven israel has been trying to cement that connection with archaeological work that it says proves the temple's historical existence which the united nations has ruled illegal in occupied territory. it's a necessity to counter rejections of jewish history here when we hear president that collaboration we celebrate the fact that someone somewhere in the world is given recognition to the capital which has been our capital for three thousand years the heart and soul of the jewish people our right as an independent country to declare our capital but he left room open for those negotiations to figure out what exactly that means when we say jerusalem is the jewish capital the thousands of years drusilla has changed hands the subject of a continuing struggle for control this latest chapter in that history has had its narrative shifted by the us president its eventual resolution seeming only to slip

further into the future of this holy city so that report from harry fawcett who is now at their not sure it starts in west jerusalem we have malcolm webb in gaza that is where the number of christians in the besieged strip has seen a drastic decline over the years and we have. joining us from bethlehem where christians believe that jesus christ was born so as we have closer to the midnight mass talk us through the mood this christmas even what message bethlehem is sending out to the world. well i think the mood is as them as the weather on this christmas eve now celebrations have been going ahead like every year this is a message of defiance that butler had once to send out you know the city has been. the scene of quite violent intense clashes between do you think and the israeli soldiers for the past three weeks ever since the declaration of jerusalem well

today none of that happened but lamb is showing a united front certainly this is a bitter trees bitter sweet taste to this christmas much less tourist many cancellations of palestinians who wanted to come here who couldn't make it and certainly a lot of worry and looking forward at what the new year could bring it does become the center of the epicenter for catholics not only from palestine as well as israel but christians coming from all over the world so what do they face trying to get into bethlehem. well it certainly i mean to raise for them it will be quite easily they would come they usually are based mostly in jerusalem and they would come here with their buses you have some pilgrims who like to stay here in bethlehem but for palestinians it's a much more complicated match or certainly occupation really is present in every

aspect of your daily life if you live across the occupied west bank and traveling form eighty two b. is not so easy you need to go over many hurled hurdles so take a look at the how you can travel from ramallah to bethlehem and jerusalem. this checkpoint is the closest point to jerusalem many palestinians can get to unless they have a special permit and in that case they will have to go through the walking terminal because here only cars with a yellow license plate that means that they're allowed to get to the other side can go through now it will be also much shorter to go from here to bethlehem about a half an hour drive but because we don't have the proper license plate we will have to take a much longer route. so this is a room where cars with both israeli or palestinian license plates can travel through but there are certain roads that are forbidden to palestinians like the one

there just across the roundabout now you can only drive through that area if you have the yellow israeli license plate and if you're a palestinian of course you would need a special permit there's a whole network of segregated roads and with that comes entire areas they're accessible to palestinians even within the occupied west bank and usually those around the illegal settlements also many roads have been diverted because of the war israel has built this a parisian wall in the name of security runs more than seven hundred kilometers and they basically traps in palestinians limiting their freedom of movement look at those buildings on the other side of the wall that's east jerusalem palestinians claim it as the capital of their future state and in the background if this was a better day you could see the bright shiny of the rock so it took us about an hour

and a half to reach bethlehem now here disappear rhaetian wall is part of your daily life it cuts right through the city from the north now we want to go to jerusalem and it should be about a fifteen minute drive however because we are in the west bank we need to go first through this fortified checkpoint. palestinians living in jerusalem or inside israel can easily come here but for those living in the west bank it's much more difficult and they have to go through this grueling security check. it feels like coming out of a prison. about seventy five thousand workers go through checkpoints like this one every day so we made it here israel does grant special permission for religious occasions for example easter for the christians or ramadan for the muslims but most

of the year palestinians can't simply come and visit this city they view as their capital well will now talk to harry fawcett he's joining us from west jerusalem in jerusalem the heart of this conflict terry to what extent has the decision by the u.s. president donald trump to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital affected the christmas spirit there. well it certainly affected it i mean people here christians here preparing to celebrate christmas as they do every year we just heard. church bells ringing out through the rain across the old city which is just a hundred meters or so away from where we're standing and here at the not too down church they are preparing to have a midnight mass with hundreds of people in attendance obviously the main focus is not here in jerusalem on christmas it's in bethlehem where jesus was is believed to have been born as opposed to here were obviously easter is a bigger occasion but nonetheless there are. numerous christians here are preparing

to celebrate this very special religious festival at the same time as they're also having to deal with the fallout from this trump declaration we've been speaking to people attached to the holy circle could church for instance who are saying that really it is a it's putting as you heard in that package putting people putting this city up for political contest station at a time when really the three faiths should be thinking about more spiritual matters and one of the reasons the palestinians have reacted so strongly about this declaration is because they say that they see it as giving cover to what israel is doing on the ground i.e. accusing israel cementing its control over jerusalem. well that's right i mean that there are various things that the palestinians have been protesting about in relation to this to this trump declaration i mean one of them is quite a lot of attention on the case of a young seventeen year old girl i had to meet me who faces military court tomorrow

for assault alleged assault against an israeli soldier there were viral video of her slapping a soldier and then she was taken from her home arrested in the dead of night shortly thereafter by israeli forces israeli politicians saying all sorts of things from the fact that she should be seeing out her days in prison to israeli commentator a journalist saying that things should be done to such people in the dead of night when no one is watching so obviously there is a great deal of outrage among palestinians on that front and also as you say more generally about the situation in east jerusalem that the reason that the political declaration by trump is seen as so important at least partly is because many feel that they're already losing east jerusalem because of various measures being taken or at least being threatened by the israeli government on the ground while israel remains in full control of jerusalem since it has since nine hundred sixty seven

and so we went to one particularly sensitive place to explore that issue that being the refugee camp. it's within the city limits but out on its own. refugee camp is cut off from the rest of jerusalem by the israeli separation barrier the israeli government provides few services here the palestinian authority isn't committed to provide any local activist. says many of his neighbors do at least have one thing official status as residents of occupied east jerusalem. this identity card means a lot for us the right of return our existence in jerusalem our daily connection our children and our workers our businesses and our mosques and churches and now israel's jerusalem affairs minister is proposing to redefine the camp and other palestinian neighborhoods outside the wall is no longer part of the city to be governed instead under a new regional municipality. betty hirshman from jerusalem campaign group here i

mean this is the objective is clear it would allow israel to shift one hundred twenty thousand palestinians who are roughly one third of the entire palestinian population. from this that's one half of the equation the other is to increase jerusalem as jewish population by counting in some one hundred forty thousand israeli settlers in the occupied west bank it's all part of a two pronged strategy to change the demographics of jerusalem not just read designating tens of thousands of palestinians as outside the cities boundaries but also integrating illegal settlements here in the west bank into the jerusalem municipality in october the israeli prime minister was in one of those settlements promoting the plan known as the greater jerusalem. this place would be a part of the state of israel i support the greater jerusalem bill which would enable jerusalem and its surroundings to develop in very many aspects but plans to

put it to a cabinet vote recently which show netanyahu citing pressure from the u.s. administration as it formulates its peace plan. she has mapped jerusalem shifting lines for more than thirty years he sees a long term israeli plan coming to fruition it's me that we have. in this area. so if we speak about. the. inside is that that's why this plan carries such high stakes the palestinian authority which claims used to use them as the capital of a future palestinian state because it would destroy any prospect of a two state solution. occupied east jerusalem well christians are an integral part of palestinian society however israel's wars on palestinian territories have pushed many out worldwide there are hundreds of thousands of

palestinian christians but only a small percentage have remained in the territories malcolm webb went to gaza to find out how they're making the best of a very difficult situation. this is all of residents i has extended family that's what galavis christmas. son went to the occupied west bank three years ago and never came back he took his two sons forward to their future here in gaza. one of her daughters moved to canada six years ago a family that bad other life is very difficult in gaza we live under siege and we cannot move anywhere gaza has become a big prison we've witnessed many was during the bombing we had to sleep in the church for safety the the story of rosettes family is typical among as a small community of christians because they are in just three churches congregations are shrinking. their populations just over a thousand it was more than double that ten years ago when the blockade by israel

in egypt began they suffer the same daily struggles as the muslim majority sociologists a christian families tend to have more means to get out of family. usually as all you are you. look lovely. and i think the more the human being has options and the more has money and he looks to the to the to the live and good life and this is good life is not available in gaza even your money in gaza but you can have your life. adding to the strife is the u.s. recognition of jerusalem as the capital of israel. here in this community center christians are holding a vigil in solidarity for jerusalem as palestine's capital the feeling among christian communities very much the same as it is among the muslim majority

everyone we've spoken to see here is it off position to the u.s. move and they say it only adds to the frustrations of life here. there are many muslims here too the communities carry exist. it's a somber runs the center he says they do everything they can to try and provide support for young people. doing what they need to do what they must do in their lives as young and do what you can see a lot of them who want to leave and i know that you believe this is more secure more comfortable for them to come for sure many young people here say they like gaza just that on the seat there are no opportunities here. almost anyone who can leave and so this small christian community is getting smaller well for more now christian singles are marking christmas eve well now cross over to mark and webb

was joining us from there malcolm. i'm sorry the line is going to be said again can you hear me malcolm i'm just asking you how christians in gaza are marking yes christmas eve. sure well for many christians here have told us that christmas has been very humble affair because of security concerns that normally begins with mass about seven o'clock in the evening and that lasts for about an hour after mass typically there are celebrations games for children cakes and tea and so on this year those celebrations on happening they've been canceled in solidarity with jerusalem as the capital of palestine and we've gathered with a group of young men here who we met at the y.m.c.a. at the christian community center that we store the store in the story just a short while ago but these men here are both christians and muslims the two communities are quite integrated here but we got them together so we could talk

a little bit about christmas and about life in general in gaza and one of the things that we've learned here is that christians here safely really want to get into the christmas spirit they try to travel to bethlehem in the occupied west bank or gaza or of course is besieged surrounded by a wall and a fence which is controlled by israel to rami can i ask you what do you have to do if you want to visit bethlehem for christmas of course like the christmas there is the christmas here we don't have that christmas because christmas is a season and it's an atmosphere that happens all the way in december and january and sadly it's like bedlam it's only ninety minutes away from here but unfortunately we need to go there and we didn't get to permit the sale aside only issued forty percent of the bareness this year and. many people didn't get a chance to go to jerusalem to be home to celebrity christmas. so we are seeing in goza. that's a christmas for us and celebration is only endure in their places with families in

the church mainly but this year as you said because we are being sort of duty with the situation. that's christmas and you apply every year yet every year i bloody this year i didn't get the permit. so i didn't get it yes and how they let me ask you is christmas what's your wish for twenty eighteen in the year ahead. as young palestinian christian we have a lot of dreams and aspirations for. the coming year. as young people living in gaza we only wish now for. have a secure job. access to good education to have the rights to freedom of movement. so those are considered basic human rights. anywhere else in the world and saw hopefully this year we can we can get maybe our

basic human rights. for change is you who very much so these are some of the concerns at christmas time among the christian community you guys are back here in doha doing our writer malcolm thank you and merry christmas to you as well as your guests well we can now cross over to washington d.c. and speak to new without a car she's a human rights lawyer and then assistant professor at george mason university thanks very much for joining us on al-jazeera so i was just talking to our reporters in gaza in bethlehem as well as the jerusalem they were giving us a sense of what's going on in the ground and i think the message that they were sending through is that there really is a show of unity and defiance this christmas across the occupied territories but certainly palestinians will have difficult days ahead as a result of this declaration by the u.s. . absolutely i think one of the things that has been missed in the entire coverage of trump's insulin announcement is that this is a really devastating emotional thing for palestinians who are prepared to celebrate

ied christmass aid for a significant part of the population which is christian and yet here this declaration comes in a way that further dehumanizing is this celebratory moment in consequential and irrelevant the needs the emotions the feelings the subjectivity of of these new aeons of palestinians who are basically trapped in limbo as non sovereigns of their own state and frankly non-civilian is under what israel deems is not really a does you're a occupation and so the toll of that is quite heavy and we haven't seen a lot of what i really appreciate what it is it is doing but most other outlets have covered you know have been concerned about palestinians rage in the days of rage and only concerned about the threat that palestinian anger will pose but not

on any of the suffering that palestinians actually endure and that narrative works to reify this idea that palestinians exist or only in the shadow of israel but not as their own persons in their own people hood which is the crux of the issue allow me to just shift to return soon for a moment to sort of diplomatic skier and what we saw is that the palestinian leadership now coming out and saying that they will not use or allow the u.s. to be a mediator anymore is probably still in leadership correct when they take such a when they take such a stance. first of all i hope that's absolutely true and that this is not a veiled threat and in fact the palestinian authority is committed to maintaining this position that is the absolute basic minimum that the palestinian leadership needs to do it should have done it since two thousand and one when the peace process fell apart in the height of the second palestinian uprising or the the fall

of the the united states up until one thousand nine hundred sixty seven was not necessarily a key player on the on the question of palestine but in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven under the lyndon b. johnson administration the u.s. upped its relationship to israel and became its primary lawyer and print and protector in a way it saw israel as affording it a very convenient and critical proxy ally in its war with the soviet union for hegemonic control of the middle east in the cold war and thanks for having said that then israel presumably will not accept anyone but the us to be a mediator so this is going to put the palestinians in a tough spot. that was the palestinian thinking and why arafat's from one thousand nine hundred three onwards angled to have a direct line to the united states as a mediator they got that opportunity in one thousand nine hundred three we've had

two decades and a half to bear witness to the fact that even though the united states is one of the only countries in the world that can bear pressure on israel it has been able and unwilling to do so that's a result of its own domestic politics but it's also the result of its own foreign policy so even if this might be the best chance that the palestinians have we have twenty five years demonstrating that it doesn't work and so now we need a plan b. and maybe that plan b. is not as optimal but it will certainly be better than this dismal. outcome that the united states has been able to provide good article three thank you for joining us on al-jazeera speaking to us from washington and we'll just take a moment right now and listen to the bells ringing for midnight mass taking place right now at the church of the nativity in bethlehem built on the spot where it is believed jesus was born let's listen for a minute. so

the bells of just wrong midnight mass in bethlehem at the church of the nativity church built on the spot where it is believed that jesus was born and palestinian officials as well as pilgrims attending mass in bethlehem.

now public opinion in the u.s. has plummeted trump made his announcement a new survey done by the palestinian center for survey and policy shows that ninety one percent out of ten palestinians feel the u.s. is the solution to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital is a threat to their interests about forty five percent of the palestinian authority to stop all contact with the u.s. administration file a complaint with the international criminal court and return to armed resistance and now people in favor of armed resistance as a way to establish a palestinian state has jumped from thirty five to forty four percent while the same time support for negotiations has dropped from thirty three to twenty seven percent and trump's move seems to have dented palestinian president mahmoud abbas his popularity as well seventy percent won him to resign. because the sea is the palestinian ambassador to the holy sea and speaking from the vatican i asked him

what the next move for the palestinian authority will be. our president said that we would use all peaceful tools to rebuff such a decision on what to do we took the right steps by going to you know to get international body to the united nation to discolor to consent to the general assembly and we are continuing. by you knocking the door of the international community just about a quarter in fact twenty seven percent of your population the palestinian population now say that they support negotiations going forward how much does the palestinian authority agree or disagree with the population and do you see a way forward for negotiations in the near future that will be. getting that meeting by this concept by dole leadership of the state of palestine and by the p.l.o. of course the right decisions will be taken to start to take decisions what time

will be this is are you going to take what decisions will you be looking for to be taken what concrete decisions. well i mean a strategy. we stick to our vision for the. solution on the border of sixty seven by by unilateral decision it seems you know i mean this formula is standing up and the units of the decision of the leadership to revisit the strategy of two state solution and then you know to be frank with you because i live in jerusalem i live and occupied state of palestine i see that there is that we are going talers and impose one state solution by a state official by their practices by you so what are you noticing that you can actually say anderson you are on the outside is that on the at the time to transform one side about a cart says that it's time to transform the struggle for for one states with equal

rights for everyone living in historic palestine from the river to the sea. do you agree with that is that iran is taking this direction and now a days you know we're leaving you know two systems one system for the searchers on one side of the system for the palestinians and it seems that you know we're going we're going to. do to our skin or for different alternatives and at the end you know. mr netanyahu should look at me. and you know tell me what he should do what he will do to me i'm there to stay in my city in my country and my identity is there and i want i want to move from there so let me ask you what i'll do you know we run this struggle for justice and peace and dignity no doubt about it but you know i mean the best option for us would continue to be a good two state solution let me ask you about pope francis he's come out and he's

spoken about this decision saying that jerusalem must be preserved the status of jerusalem that is must be preserved do you think that the vatican has taken a strong enough stance for let us remember that two years ago they signed a compressive agreement with the us and there could be nicer diskette of palestine on the borders of sixty seven and you know i mean with the latest development his holiness said themselves that he doesn't accept the decision or the declare is trying to recall of two. and the vatican as it is the with the with all the churches they ask to maintain the status school and date if you lose the exclusivity and they refuse to make them with one color and that position is our position what is your message on christmas eve to palestinians who are in jerusalem who are in bethlehem we have to keep in mind jerusalem for the first time

in or since two thousand. from. the how do you shop because support it could go from going to be. cherished by this. war what i see to it would be should be viewed through the voice of our richard couldn't be should hear the voice of all the children would go to freedom and dignity and they want to live. in dignity and in freedom and in and grow up we are working for is justice for justice what i would get justice for the future of justice but our children so that was the ambassador to the holy see speaking to me earlier on and we'll so you bethlehem and in fact show you the scene in the vatican in just a moment but take a look at bethlehem where the bells just rang the midnight for marking midnight mass about six minutes ago or so so that's the scene from the church of the

nativity inside bethlehem and we'll show you what's happening at the vatican city bells will ring there in less than an hour's time marking christmas and celebrating the birth of jesus and we do expect pope francis of course to conduct the traditional midnight mass and that will take place in st peter's basilica in less than an hour's time. well we'll continue our focus on jerusalem and the repercussions of donald trump's unilateral decision to declare it as israel's capital of priyanka gupta digs deeper into how a series of events over the past century in fact have shaped today's developments in the contest that city. this status of jerusalem is at the heart of the israeli palestinian conflict and is hugely symbolic for both sides and to understand why we need to go back seventy years that's when a u.n.

vote in one thousand nine hundred forty seven carved up palestinian land into two states a jewish one and an arab one under this partition plan jerusalem was given a special international status under the un but a year later israel declared itself a state triggering the first arab israeli war that's when it captured more territory leading to the division of jerusalem where issues linking monday's israeli control that's marked in green over there and east jerusalem came under jordanian group that's and read then in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven after a six day war israel occupied east jerusalem and it's still under israeli control despite u.n. resolutions saying it's illegal fastforward thirteen years later in one thousand nine hundred eighty israeli father consolidated its grip over the city its parliament declared jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital but the international community rejected that now palestinians see issues them as a capital of the future state but it's not just

a palestinian issue jerusalem holds religious and symbolic significance for the world's three major faiths islam judaism and christianity the some wasc the western wall and the church of the holy settler are all in jerusalem. now we can speak to robbie sable he's joining us from west to slim he's the former legal advisor to the israeli ministry of foreign affairs he's currently a professor of international relations at the hebrew university of jerusalem thanks for joining us on al-jazeera so the prime minister benjamin netanyahu has called the moment the donald trump declared jerusalem as israel's capital a festive and unifying moments for israel yet it hasn't really unified israel with the rest of the international community we saw the u.n. g.a. come out with a resolution overwhelmingly disagreeing in fact with the decision the united states has taken so is it a little bit premature for israel to be joyful over this decision.

first of all i'd like to wish all the viewers happy christmas speaking form of a peaceful two slogan i hope we have a peaceful new year. the president trumps declaration was welcomed here because jerusalem is israel's capital it has been israel's capital now for nearly seventy years it's recognized by all states as a capital in the sense that all foreign ambassadors present their credentials to these very president in jerusalem they signed treaties in jerusalem the ambassadors include the investors of egypt and jordan all present their credentials to the israeli president in jerusalem this was capital it's also important to look at what was not said in president trump's declaration he recognized the reality jews live as israel's capital he did not make any reference to issues loom or to the holy

sites and i think is it's worth recalling that israel has stated in the past that we are willing to negotiate a special status for the holy sites and we still israel is still willing to negotiate it for that of course we need a partner willing to sit down and negotiate with us and if i can add on a personal note i grew up in jerusalem with the wall dividing east and west jerusalem with the jordanian legion holding the other side i don't think anybody in the world wants to come back to a situation where jerusalem is divided by a war we need to negotiate and i'm optimistic that we can beach the i don't know i don't know how soon we can beach again soon we'll why in the end no one believes that this decision robbie sable is a is a starting point for any sort of negotiations on the contrary a lot of people say that this just gives israel the green light to be able to grab more land in jerusalem and we've just seen israel as well and i don't think new

settlements that they're going to build in eastern jerusalem specifically. what the president tried to recognize was to reality every state declares what its capital is to use them as our capital but again i like to emphasize we are aware that we have something here that is holy to christians holy to muslims and we commit goshi a special status for that and we're willing to do it again the settlement issue is a difficult issue we've agreed with the palestinians in the one thousand nine hundred feet of the agreement that is one of the issues that we will negotiate and there's no other way the un is not going to provide a solution to it it can help you can help the united states could help the only people who can actually solve the problem of the israelis and the palestinians and we'll have to sit together and negotiate netanyahu says and i believe you just cited that the year almost implying that there is freedom of worship in jerusalem

however we both know and you're in jerusalem and i've been to jerusalem as well there are policies designed to make life very very difficult for palestinians and especially palestinian christians who want to enter a jerusalem and visit the holy sites. i think it's true to say that only under these really the ministration has jews to be open to all religions it's worth recording that under the jordanian ministration it was not open to it israel is open to it and this freedom of religion complete freedom of religion in jerusalem i'm speaking here in a catholic monastery not far from us or jewish synagogues muslim holy places and week we can and we will continue to live peacefully together ravi's able we thank you for speaking to us from a west jerusalem. thank you again merry

christmas thank you well in a speech donald trump called jerusalem quote the heart of one of the most successful democracies of the world where people of all faiths are free to live that's not a view shared by human rights organizations or palestinians in occupied east jerusalem almost three hundred thousand of them living there hold a residency id card but no possible or it's effectively meaning they are stateless neither citizens of palestine nor israel israel can cancel their residency card with the united nations saying more than fourteen thousand palestinians have had their residencies revoked by israel since one thousand nine hundred seven the rules are different for jews coming from any part of the world they can live in the country and obtain israeli citizenship under israeli law then there's the issue of illegal settlements and their ongoing expansion which palestinians into small pockets of territory with lack of basic civic amenities like water at least one hundred forty thousand palestinians in east jerusalem are disconnected from the

rest of the city because of israel's separation wall it cuts right through palestinian neighborhoods and it's affected families too for example if you're from gaza or the occupied west bank and you're married to someone from east jerusalem then you are almost always prohibited from getting a permanent residency card that's part of a two thousand and three law passed by israel's parliament so you're essentially separated from your spouse based on where you're from. will not cross over to speak to. a human rights lawyer and a former legal advisor to the p.l.o. thanks very much for joining us on al-jazeera so if you heard me speaking to robbie sable just a moment ago he was saying that the united states is simply recognizing the reality what is your response to the. that's absolutely incorrect what the united states is doing is it's actually recognizing theft and it's promoting theft and it's encouraging theft it's important to keep in mind that jerusalem was never

once allocated to be israel's capital not east not west jerusalem and what they've now done is they've given the green light to israel to continue to build and expand settlements to continue to kick the palestinians out of their out of their town of jerusalem and it's also given the green light to continue israel's illegal back behavior not just in east jerusalem but also throughout the the west the rest of the west bank so what president trump has done is he's basically that to israel go ahead continue to violate international law we've not only got your back but we're going to reward you as well so where does this all leave then palestinian the options not just the also already but other factions as well what do you see as a solution going forward. look i think the only way forward is for this palestinian authority or any future leadership to start focusing on things that do work and what works is to be pushing for boycotts

to be pushing for israel's divestment from israel to be pushing for sanctions on israel and also to be pushing to hold israel accountable to continue along this false path of negotiations i was part of this and i know that they were few tile is going to lead to nowhere and this is why the israelis keep on cystic on having negotiations they want to continue to beat up on a weaker party they want to continue to build and expand settlements and they want to simply swallow it instead what the strategy should be is abandon negotiations push to hold israel accountable and be pushing for boycotts for divestment and sanctions these are the types of things that will work and they worked in south africa they will also work with apartheid israel you've also said that israel is spinning this conflict and for religious one strategically how so. what they've been trying to do for quite some time is they're trying to blur the fact that they are a colonizer that they are that there has been

a land theft and that they have not only stolen land but they've ethnically cleansed the people who are part of that land i mean it's important for us to keep in mind today as we're talking on christmas that israel has ethnically cleansed christians from the birthplace of christianity and so what israel instead tries to do is they try to turn this into a religious conflict so that it makes it seem like it's intractable it makes it seem like this is just one of competing religions when it's not it's one of israel's occupation colonise ation and ethnic cleansing and once we recognize that we'll move away from the simple trifle statements that somehow this has to do with religion when it does it one thing that was very interesting with your previous speaker was that he was talking about the fact that he lived during a time when there was a wall in jerusalem well maybe he should wake up and realize that there is right now a wall in jerusalem and what that wall does is it separates palestinians from palestinians it's a wall that is based in jerusalem that is entirely designed to separate palestinian

christians and muslims from their holy sites and as we heard from other guests this evening even gazans who are trying to come out to celebrate one of the most holy days for them are being barred from doing so because israel believes in the in the concept of israeli and jewish superiority and doesn't believe in the concept of equality all right thank you for speaking to us from high school. well jordan a stand a staunch u.s. ally in the region has called trump's decision no void the house of my kingdom that rules the country is the custodian of the holy sites of jerusalem it's one of fifty seven muslim countries that declared east jerusalem as the capital of palestine at a summit called by turkey earlier this month joining us from amman is the former deputy prime minister of jordan as a wide line on the thank you very much for talking to us on al-jazeera so jordan too has a stake in jerusalem as i'm saying as

a custody end of the holy sites whether the same time jordan is economically dependent on the united states so this puts the government in the king in a tough position well thank you very much i think jordan has been custodian of the holy places however i would like to caution against the fact that we should not to use the issue of palestine and the issue of jerusalem only to the religious matter it is a political human rights issue. you know i mean. gentleman who spoke from west jerusalem right to show it as if it was just me a religious rights group just laws of course of have their own sanctity and we should respect them very much and the family of course is the custodian of the king of the second of jordan is the custodian of all the places but ever the issue of germs is a good thing to declare jerusalem israel's capital we've seen jordan take

a tough stance but how long can it continue without stand seeing that it is the pendant on u.s. economic aid in this jordan worried that the u.s. will follow through on its threat to cut off foreign aid to countries who voted against the u.s. at the u.n. general assembly resolution in which jordan of course did. well i agree with you that aid to jordan is an important part of the total it will jordan receives from from the outside but in terms of percentage to the g.d.p. or even to the budget in terms of budget to their locations barely up to fifteen percent and in terms of the g.d.p. they are only probably three percent or two percent so in a way when you say that jordan is dependent on the u.s. foreign aid of course as much as it is important as well as the aid from other countries but it still is not. does not make jordan solely dependent on that

source if you yourself weren't home when the peace process between jordan and israel what you say that the peace process the peace deal excuse me still has support in jordan today yes i agree with you that jordan right now you know what i mean if you go back a little bit to my duty in ninety one when the architecture of the negotiations was made there but it's still not related issues were divided into two stages there was the interim stage and there was the final status negotiations now the israeli government at that time although it was a right wing government had accepted the fact that jerusalem was something to be negotiated within the framework of final negotiations now jordan sticks to that position believes that jerusalem is and is an occupied territory excess specialities there was a time and that for israel to be accepted. to be accepted as

a country with jos a limb i mean west jerusalem as its capital they also must come to the road to recognize that is jerusalem is the palestinian captain all right we thank you very much for joining us from amman in jordan. thank you now a symbol of religious coexistence in the holy lands includes a centuries old tradition muslim families have played the role of the guardian of the many churches in the occupied territories it dates back to the time of the liberation of jerusalem from the crusaders it's me i give you that old saying i mean my name is judeo husseini i'm the keyholder of the church of the holy sepulcher in jerusalem and the holder of the stamp of the holy to me and. you will be the story of my family began in eleven eighty seven when saddam hussein are you being liberated the city of jerusalem from the crusaders i mean for the king is

that the i me that you dana the six agreed and from eleven eighty seven until today we have been holding the keys of the church of the holy sepulcher all the free shuttle for you nation if we have preserved it with our blood and soul it is our second home my job is not just an honorable job and it is not just the heritage of my family as a muslim family it is the heritage to all muslims across the world that a muslim family has held and preserved the church for eight hundred fifty years we moved back in is that what the. of to me it is a feeling that cannot be described and i envy myself for being the key holder of the church of the holy several curry i have been opening the door of the holy simple kurd church since i was eight years old and today i'm fifty three. for more than forty years i've had this responsibility my father gave me the seal of the grave when i was twelve years old and i sealed the tomb. of this now i

have three children and i've started teaching them that sometimes i open sometimes they open but. the keys of the holy sepulcher church are in the custody of the husseini family and hopefully this will last forever. my family received two keys from salaheddine our u.b. because there were two doors every door had two locks two doors for locks one key opens for locks the key broke five hundred years ago so we use the second one. we don't want to leave the holy sepulture church it is captive just like a mosque and it's the same thing and he said look at me i see it i'm going to want to measure them i see we are peace callers we hope and pray for peace to come to our region from here from the church of the holy sepulcher the lights of islamic christian coexistence emerged in an awful minute before lee. we lived with them and

we have known them since childhood we are in the same trenches we have the same pain and suffering we have the same feeling these churches are also arab churches not just palestinian we are not just brothers in ethnicity but also in blood but when i'm back to bethlehem to listen to this sermon by the archbishop care about peace about. if you could lead. for all of the story traditions places. lend which is witness of the he's thrilled of elation lends the thoughts for billions believe us over the world. and we are called the eyes you know be friends with this lend. not to pull says it but to serve you. what we are what we do here is that sara peaceful or humanity not just for ourselves. well francis said repeating what many others said

before him he's not you that there was a message you for peace. there is not peace if someone uses could. there was a them would include not exclude. the mother there was of him as our mother. loves all her children if one is missing the mother cannot be peace. so we have to pray for the peace of jerusalem according what the psalm says. but we have to continue otherwise we go too much in politico's we have to remain now really just a mention praying we have to pray on the gospel today. one think another thing can you say all the politicians not to i not thinking about what you don't want. to all those that the for the power to decide our future. with corage. not to fear to day or to try to risk.

not to fear to being alone. not to abandon each one vision we need to be sure we need vision. today even more than ever we need from you from all those that can take decisions but he had a policy of serious policy and this by the main it is a by humans of the past and of the present days with it i'm a nation not abandoned having a vision but on contrary even more than before let yourself be provoked by the cry of the poor in the flick that because they're not god that's not for kate the cry of the flea. but what to say to that power so the world i say first of all to our to ourselves. then is today we also look for power to fool a strong kingdom that makes us feel protected and safe. with

a shepherd is however a contrary sign so for a defenseless and helpless newborn. we christians who don't forget we did looking for straying for power that what we celebrate today here. is the small child the most fragile and. how. helpless is signed we could if. all the rory sung by the engines the entire everly heart of me was also mobilized on that night all of our focus on the child. that was placed in the manger. there then invited to reverse the logic of behavior got invited to a change of mentality and perspective. you know that what is so that's the arch

best here but since the kids about speaking at the church of nativity in bethlehem he is giving the christmas a ceremony and listening into that is a double whammy it's a joining us as well from bethlehem the arts. taking on a somewhat political message and his salmon. yes absolutely and it's probably the same political message that he had already yesterday where he lay simply said that any unilateral decision again on jerusalem should be off limits regardless of any politics and he also went on as saying that you know we're on the beyond the borders beyond the issues of sovereignties beyond the politics well jerusalem is a universal symbol for billions of people around the planet that should be taken into account before making any kind of decision on the fate of the city also has

some very harsh words yesterday towards u.s. vice president mike pence he said that he would advise my expense to listen more to christians and that this is no monopoly on jesus and certainly not by the evangelicals he also went further by saying that should my parents come to the region as scheduled in january well he would not be officially received at any of the christian holy sites in the old city of jerusalem now joining me here is five year he is an advisor to the negotiating team of years thank you very much for joining me so as an advisor to do a game changing team will you be negotiating anytime soon at least not with americans they have totally disqualified souls from any political process it cannot be possible but they have decided for marriage just to recognize jerusalem a city which is the center for three women face equally jews and ok producer for us

part of israel's capital now we're seeing that certainly here there's a lot there's a lot of unity among the palestinians we've seen that the church has pulled its full weight behind the palestinians on this particular issue of jerusalem and also we've seen the leadership really travel wide and far in the world trying to garner support what are do we options that you guys. is have at this stage there are many options remember that the peace process started in madrid and then you have something brokered by norway it's not only about the united states you have many want to play a role here you have russia you have china you have new p. and countries of around but i think the main issue here is not what's going to happen if the u.s. leaves the result when you have your fifty years of occupation you have no accountability on the ground you have is trying to pay no price not ever for violating your solutions and therefore i think that's a real question they vote at the u.n. general assembly showed that the tree national position is clear but we have to

translate this international position into political action that's a real challenge that certainly does a real challenge that as we speak there's a sermon going on inside the church of the nativity and we already heard from archbishop there but the step it's about love very strong words in support of the palestinians what would you like to hear him say today at that time where his words are being the around the world let's remember that christians in this region are palestinians and they have suffered perhaps more than any other person here other groups in palestine in science and math but were sixty percent of the christians became refugees and now we're in a city surrounded by eighteen illegal is for you the quality of supplements we have a situation whereby but i'm going to be growth anywhere because of destroying the occupation and therefore the church leaders have a responsibility not only in terms of fighting for justice which is one of the values of jesus christ brought according to the christian tradition but also in

terms of saving their community their community is disappearing not because of muslim oppression like israeli propaganda like two percent but because of this nation that's what all serious reporters want to tell you thank you very much have you certainly this square behind me manager square and the church of nativity are the epicenter of the catholic faith day and tomorrow. this mistake usually they would be hundreds of pilgrims on the square behind me just standing outside of the church inside the church well this year we are told that at least there was fifty percent of cancellations if not more so to be a very bad mood here. as to whether five years said if there is one city that also represents all the aspects of patient it's it's a city that's completely emptied by settlements from all sides and soon with more

plans for more expansions of illegal settlements it will be completely cut off from jerusalem you have also the separation wall which is part of the baby life for everyone here in this city and certainly now with all these these new political upheaval there is a lot of worry not only in. crossed the occupied west bank about what the new year could bring for people here that have thank you well our special tonight has been focusing on jerusalem and the wider issue of the israeli occupation on palestine one major group of stakeholders in this conflict are the refugees and wider diaspora the question of whether they'll ever be allowed to return to their homes is forefront on the minds of millions of palestinians scattered across the globe zain i heard has more from lebanon. it's been sixty nine years in exile. there was eleven years old when his family fled palestine to lebanon. ever since he

has lived the life of a refugee in a country that hasn't been welcoming. still remembers the day he left his home in what is now israel. i still remember when these really are strikes targeted our villages we were sent into exile leaving everything we owned behind i remember every detail even the trees the streets the farms as if it was yesterday. buried two of his children here by her was killed during the civil war in the one nine hundred eighty s. and died during the lebanese israeli war eleven years ago palestinians were not only involved and caught up in lebanon's own conflicts they have been denied many basic right to prevent their resettlement here long term. as a palestinian i have seen nothing but humiliation displacement oppression and deprivation for sixty nine years we lived unbearable bitter moments away from our beloved palestine we will die for the sake of palestine. the first wave of

palestinian refugees arrived in one nine hundred forty eight they came with whatever they could carry thinking it was only a short time before they could return small tent settlements were set up in time those settlements became densely populated neighborhoods. it is estimated that seven million palestinians live in the diaspora more than half are stateless they have no citizenship in any country according to the united nations the majority live in occupied palestinian territory and in surrounding countries jordan hosts more than three million palestinians more than half a million live in syria well at least they used to because of the war more than one hundred thousand fled to europe and elsewhere around fifty thousand of them sought refuge here in lebanon it was an added strain to aid agencies that were already overstretched some four hundred fifty thousand palestinians are registered with the un in lebanon but according to the first ever census by the lebanese government more than half of them have left the country in recent years. more than fifty

percent left due to the difficult economy conditions they are deprived from the basic rights they don't have a job opportunities. mohamed says he is searching for a way out he tried but failed to smuggle his family to turkey from where he planned to reach europe he also tried to apply for immigration to canada. the economic conditions here are bad banned from working in many professions we dream of traveling because here it's hard to provide our children with food but just because i want to leave doesn't mean i have given up on palestine and i want to return. palestinians hold on to that right adopted by the un general assembly it has been decades but many like believe that one day palestine will be there is again and one day his grandchildren or their children will bring his body back to his hometown and allow speak to say now she's joining us from. lebanon and saying

that along with of course jerusalem the right of for a turn for palestinians is also crux of the conflict. yes a central issue in the goetia and also one of the most intractable issues it is one of the causes why peace negotiations have failed but there were four hundred fifty thousand palestinian refugees in lebanon registered with the united nations but the first ever census done by the lebanese government shows that there are one hundred seventy seven thousand palestinians now in the country most of these people over the years made their way to europe either illegally or legally because they lost the pope because life is difficult in lebanon but not because they've given up the right to return now to talk more about that right this must. be in refugee must do you think this issue is going to affect your right to return to it because the business council. for us to be in existence is the.

floor the whole. people demand so forth to their homes. to. govern what should be done do you think that the protests that we're seeing and the confrontations between the israeli troops and the palestinian youths is that enough no it's not enough it's must be make it like you know for your uprising . to stop. movement movement that we have the right this drives an hour. hour for us. thank you very much so must the one of the really thousands of refugees who live in lebanon. thank you . well thousands of palestinians have been living in the u.s. for generations some have been immigrating for better opportunities and as they try and build their lives abroad palestine is never far from their minds as she has

returned see reports. left bethlehem seven years ago and now lives in northeast washington d.c. but its christmas gatherings have remained constant this is a tradition that in bethlehem we celebrate. now so i was born in jerusalem but grew up in bethlehem before moving to the us and i'm trying to bring some of these traditions to the united states to my family and getting people together to celebrate christmas donald trump's decision to recognize drew israel's capital has hit hard he worries now about the prospect of never being able to return to his birthplace. in. christian. as a christian it's important for me to go and train jerusalem and also as. it was also born in jerusalem that i want to i want to be able to go but another

guest here tonight found some comfort president announcement has at least refocused international attention on the israeli occupation there's you know heightened tensions over the holy sites within drucilla more but in other places. these events and these anniversaries become much more important and more people participate and people put greater effort. to celebrate them and to have the world celebrate them two. points to this year's joint service of congregations from the national cathedral in washington d.c. . through the christmas tree in bethlehem detected an extra from the sermons that evidence back home made a very important statement about how. on this christmas day how important it is that we realize that just like the times of jesus we have the caesars of this any that we as christians people of faith need to resist this was masters christmas

wish i hope that. everyone in this one pakistan christian muslim jews misty needs answering use would one day live in equal equal equal equally that means having access and access to water access to electricity access to build in their homes to build in their lands and well that's what i want do you want equal rights for everyone to be living in equality and whether one whatever the solution is a christmas dinner of palestinian resistance in the us country she had two terms the old washington. let's go to laura burton manley for an in-depth tour of the holy sites thanks during drucilla dates back to almost three thousand years before christ and is one of the most important cities in the world for the three monotheistic religions that islam christianity and judaism now inside the square kilometers area of the old city you'll find one of the most important

sanctuaries for all three religions it's designated a world heritage site by unesco and is the third holiest site in islam it compound it includes the ox a mosque which is the dome tilting that dates back to the seventh century and the dome of the rock built in the same period but the iconic shining golden roof was added in the one nine hundred sixty s. now next to this is what's commonly known as the western wall it's the most important holy place for jews who believe it's the only surviving structure of a sacred temple for muslims it's known as the brock wall a place where they believe the prophet muhammad visited during the night of ascension now towards the christian quarter of the old city you'll find the via dolorosa tracing the path christians believe jesus walked on his way to crucifixion

. this ends at the entrance to the church of the holy suppled the holiest site for christians where they believe christ was resurrected but for many the holy land stretches from the mediterranean sea to the river jordan and hold some of the religions most important sites but many of these are rarely covered by israeli tools especially the area's past the separation wall so let's take a look at these now if we head south east over the wall that divides the occupied west bank to the south in the hills of hebron here lies the ebro himi most an important sanctuary for muslims now just over two decades ago the is raided settler baruch goldstein entered the mosque and shot and killed twenty nine worshipers now after that the israelis divided the mosque setting sixty percent of it for settlers residing there illegally to pray they know it as the tomb of the patriarchs

now head north down the hills and your reach shepherd's fields in bethlehem christians say here three shepherds followed a star to the city of bethlehem and a venture. to the church of nativity now this sits over a cave known as the grotto where christians believe jesus was born more than almost two thousand and eighteen years ago first commissioned in the fourth century it's also a un was heritage site and was the first to be listed on the palestine now not far from here built deep into the cliffs line it's one of the oldest inhabitant monasteries in the world that's the bar. now let's continue to head down the hills to the surroundings of the lowest city on earth and that's jericho here lies the mount of temptation a seemingly gravity defying ministry set up in the hills of the desert with views

of the jordan valley and the dead sea now this is where jesus was said to be tempted by the devil now if we travel west about an hour's drive posture islam over the israeli gaza separation wall we reach one of the oldest churches in the world that saint put fear ias it dates back more than sixteen hundred years and serves gaza's dwindling community of just over a thousand orthodox christians now not far from here lies the great mosque gaza's oldest and largest mosque built in the seventh century it has been destroyed by conquerors an earthquake many times but it's been rebuilt and remains in use today now although the holy land is an important for all three religions muslims and christians often prevented from visiting these sites due to the israeli

occupation of the land. let's now cross over to peter sharp and bring him in he's joining us live from the bat at the vatican that is where the pope is going to be conducting the traditional midnight mass peter but the vatican certainly has taken a strong stance against the u.s. is a decision on jerusalem. they certainly have. a strong stance and one may talk very very quickly within hours of president trump's announcement the vatican and the pope in particular said that he was concerned about this this this event i look the vatican is one of the smallest city states in the world but it has a very powerful voice that represents one point two billion catholics around the world and over the last few days it's really since december sixth there's been very little day that that they haven't managed to put this agenda or out it was in the

united nations they were talking about maintaining the status of jerusalem in talks with the king of jordan that's a message went across and basically it was unwavering and uncompromising in what they're saying is that jerusalem does not belong to a certain people it belongs to all of us and that's the message that the pope has delivered and will continue to deliver we're expecting tomorrow and that's only a few hours' time that is is says christmas message he will again bring up the question of drew slim he was it took office in two thousand and thirteen every single christmas message has included his thoughts and concerns about relations between the israelis and the palestinians and his remarks tomorrow

are going to be weighted with interest ok at petersham. thank you for joining us and giving us the update from the vatican city and merry christmas to you. well let's just take a look at some of the most important u.n. resolutions regarding palestine and israel so resolution one eighty one adopted by the u.n. general assembly seventy years ago and this led to the partition of palestinian territory into two distinct jewish and arab states jerusalem was kept under international control then comes a security council resolution two forty two in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven called for the withdrawal of israeli forces from the land it captured after the six day war but today that occupation still continues then comes a resolution for four six one nine hundred seventy nine when the u.n. said israel's illegal settlements in palestinian and arab lands have no legal validity and there have been dozens more which brings us to now on thursday in a stinging rebuke to the u.s.

administration one hundred twenty eight countries voted in favor declaring null and void trumps recognition of jerusalem as israel's capital. one hundred twenty eight against nine. vote coming despite the trump administration's threat to cut aid if countries voted in favor of the draft resolution even though it's non-binding the vote was hugely symbolic and indicating america's unilateral declaration went against international consensus joining us now from santa barbara in california is richard falk he's the former u.n. special reports her on the occupied palestinian territory thanks very much for joining us on al-jazeera so you wrote at the beginning of the year that the u.n. general assembly is failing but let's not give up so when you look at the palestinian issue at the united nations and the recent developments with the u.n. . resolution on thursday can you just give me your initial reading of that.

well i think it's an enormous symbolic victory for those supporting the palestinian struggle and it's a great set back for the kind of bullying geopolitics that president trump was pursuing by unilaterally recognizing jerusalem as the capital of israel it was a bluff that had been called that has been called every important country in the world without exception supported the resolution including america's closest allies france u.k. japan and many others so this is a very important moment and what happens next of course is unclear but what is clear is that not only does the u.n. fulfill its role as determining rights and legitimate

grievances but it also sends a signal to other governments and to civil society that this is an issue that deserves full and unconditional support you of course were the chief author of a report that was accusing israel off being an apartheid states a report that we know that was rejected by the united nations secretary general himself what changes come about from these types of reports well the report first of all wasn't rejected it was removed from the u.n. website but the u.n. secretary general effect this event i'm slower on it slide. he distanced himself from it procedurally he said he hadn't been properly consulted you can interpret it different ways but and in effect it was

a slap at the report of the director of the commission in the middle east resigned as a result of that but nevertheless the report has made more normal the understanding that the subjugation of the palestinian people as a whole on the basis of their ethnic identity is indeed a form of a part that blocks the path to peace and what the report argues is that genuine peace will depend on dismantling this structure just as happened in south africa under somewhat similar circumstances where a people was being subjugated for the sake of racial domination what. it came to the structure was in silence general community apologies but what

changed when it came to south africa that people are wondering can be applied to the palestinian situation. well in south africa as now in the palestinian situation until it changed no one expected the south african political leadership to accept the idea that that apartheid was a crime and should be dissolved they never expected nelson mandela to be released from prison what they expected was an armed struggle for the future of south africa and what changed the south african opinion on the part of its leaders was the accumulation of pressure and isolation that resulted from the un ante up again and so if one looks at this jerusalem

resolution as a step in that direction it is an occasion for some hope that the palestinians will be finally liberated from this long ordeal all right richard falk we thank you very much for joining us from santa barbara and wishing you a merry christmas and happy holidays as well. well that's the scene right now in bethlehem from the church off to see you've been watching an al-jazeera news special the holy land we wish you a merry christmas and happy holidays and we'll leave you with us on. the rules to leave. i have determined that it is time for her to officially recognize

jerusalem as the capital of this. i. hope. you can be sure the unit with the piece by piece. the speech the stand.

alone turn begins with but it does now. in there no terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat than the regime of saddam hussein and this is a regime that has something to hide they have their a significant propaganda flourish and guess what not one w m d shite words found in iraq since the one nine hundred ninety one iraq a deadly deception at this time on al jazeera.

newsstand the differences. and the similarities of cultures across the. al-jazeera. uncontacted like the god who created things shining in korea in building full glory yes mean larry shifts her attention to the disaster stricken regions of pakistan and building upon traditional techniques and people with the knowledge needed to sustain their societies rebel architecture a traditional feel at this time on how to sierra a new era in television news. it doesn't say that he's a tall student sings in secret we had actual victims who had survived torture detention and saying this was the cause of my arrest if you could. just stay we do

it. i got this conviction that everyone has a deep reservoir of thomas but if you can give them the opportunity to fling stop to look at the actual distance there's at least twenty thousand or hinder refugees who live here we badly need at this moment leadership and felt as exposed to the public as resides donald trump is going to be the next president retaliation with the other guy though. actually funny kind of stuff of gas subsidies to believe that the best to prevent the media getting anywhere just get a call that. he achieved something that never happened before. this is al jazeera.